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According to lawyers and relatives, two of the leaders of the Thai democracy protesters who made explosive criticisms of the government monarchy last year are on hunger strike and their health is deteriorating.
Chiwarak “Penguin” ditch and Panusaya “Rung” Sithijirawattanakul they have been refusing food in recent weeks in Bangkok prison to protest the decision of Thai judicial authorities to reject the bail because they are awaiting trial for serious injury (royal insult) and other charges.
Both are students at Thammasat University, a radical group of protesters demanding power and wealth. King Maha Vajiralongkorn, The billionaire head of state of Thailand, will be limited.
The protests were like the ones the kingdom has seen in recent years, in the bravery of the demands. These demands violated strict Thai laws that protected the king and his family from criticism, including the majesty of injury, with a maximum sentence of 15 years. The couple has been in prison since February.
Parit announced a hunger strike on March 15 and has only refused liquids, according to Krisadang Nutcharut, one of his lawyers. “We tried to ask the court to guarantee bail because we believe it is dangerous to lose his living condition,” Krisadang told the Financial Times.
Panusaya ‘Rung’ Sithijirawattanakul went on hunger strike on April 5 © Mladen Antonov / AFP via Getty Images
Parit was “clearly very thin,” he tended to get tired easily and can’t be without help, he said. The activist is receiving drops of salt.
“Right now I am concerned about his health,” said Paopoom Chiwara, a cousin of the activist who is in prison. “Parit isn’t a very healthy person at first.”
Panusaya, who went on hunger strike on April 5, was tired but “not as bad as Penguin’s case,” Krisadang said, advising him as well.
Students were arrested at the end of last year as a result of decisive crackdown on protest leaders last year. According to Thai Human Rights Lawyers, who advise activists, at least 17 people have been arrested in connection with protests or political participation.
“Penguin has been weakening, and there is greater concern now that Covid-19 Bangkok and the repeatedly arrested Bangkok prison inmates have been released from prison,” June Sirikan, a group lawyer, told FT.
The Thai Correctional Department told FT that Parit and Panusaya’s health is being monitored “every day, many times a day,” including their body temperature, hydration levels and blood pressure.
He said the two students were being monitored 24 hours a day on closed circuit television if they needed help, and preparations were made to take him to the hospital in the event of an emergency.
The department did not comment on the bail requests and said it was outside its area of competence.
In addition to the serious high, the two activists have been accused of sedition and other alleged crimes related to them. a protest in September in Sanam Luang, the “royal land” in front of Bangkok’s Grand Palace. The largest demonstration was in 2020 and protesters planted a plaque in Thailand “because it belonged to the people, not the king, because they deceived us.”
The protest movement has calmed down this year after a wave of arrests and police received a stronger response as they used a water cannon, tear gas and blockades to thwart the demonstrations. After refusing to use lèse majesté in recent years, Thai authorities have lodged several complaints under the law and collected a number of pending cases.
Anchan Preelert, a former official, was convicted in February of violating the law and sentenced to more than 43 years in prison.
Sirikan said Paris “wanted the world to pay attention to the situation in Thailand – not just its case, but what is happening right now.”
He added: “He said the world should see his suffering and suffering, it has been the action of the government and the powers that be.”
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